Well here's the next part all. I just would like to make something clear to you guys. I have not read past the first novel; so I really don't know much about the story arc when it comes to the novels. I plan to read them all; of course, but this story(and any more sequels, if I get that bold) are going to stem off the anime. I did recently watch the new episode a few days ago, so I couldn't help but reference that.
So if things seem similiar; I had no idea. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter!
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A dire situation was clearly in front of me.
Haruhi Suzumiya had begun to slowly lose her power as God. Itsuki Koizumi was no longer an esper, and Yuki Nagato had turned from a humanoid interface to a human being. I could easily tell that Mikuru Asahina had probably lost all her memories of time travel and whatever organization she worked for. The entire SOS Brigade was experiencing group amnesia.
I'm part of this as well, unfortunately. I know I've been losing memories too. I've probably forgotten so many important things. The problem with this amnesia is that you can't remember what you forgot. If everything were that easy, then I might have done something as crazy as wanting to be Suzumiya-san's boyfriend or something.
That's a good one, even though it's not really funny. I don't know what would ever push me to want something as outlandish as going out with Haruhi Suzumiya. I can only imagine that a relationship with her would end up being the same as the relationship I have with her now. She would still be demanding, bossy and stubborn as always. She would just be saying things that sound like….
"Kiss me already, Kyon! Do it now, you idiot!"
That doesn't sound really appealing if you ask me. But I can't help but wonder something. All of this feels so…..familiar.
Ugh. I think it's just all stress from this entire situation. I'm surprised I can keep myself so level-headed even when the whole universe is on the verge of ending. Perhaps I should give myself a little more credit. God knows no one else gives me enough credit.
"You're looking sick, Kyon-kun."
I looked up to see that Mikuru-chan was now beside me, and her sweet voice had broken my train of thought. She held a tray in her petite hands, with three cups of steaming green tea sitting on it. Her expression was genuine concern as always, and she blinked her cute orange eyes to me.
Now there's someone I could see myself with. The sweet, shy Mikuru-chan. She wouldn't be so brash to force me into such things as Suzumiya-san does. I could imagine kissing her. I wonder if she wears some sort of flavored chap-
"Stop fantasizing, you idiot!" a voice screamed behind me; cutting off my sudden daydreams. I felt a hand slam across the back of my head with a force that would be enough to break a cinderblock. It not only hurt like hell, but it nearly startled Mikuru-chan and almost caused her to spill those hot cups of tea all over me.
When did Haruhi suddenly start knowing my thoughts? I don't see what gives Suzumiya-san the right to suddenly backhand me because I got lost in a daydream. Is she jealous of Mikuru-chan stealing my attention or something?
"What the hell was that for?" I said in an annoyed and bothered tone; turning around as I rubbed the back of my head. It felt like someone had just stuck a jackhammer there for a few seconds. My head was throbbing like crazy. Haruhi should play tennis or something with that backhand of hers.
"You're thinking stuff that's way out of your league, Kyon. Mikuru-chan is untouchable to everyone except me!" Suzumiya-san replied, taking no time to get up right behind Asahina-san. She looked like a classic stalker in a way, mostly because of the mischievous, almost perverted expression she was wearing as she got behind the red-haired girl. Mikuru's face was already in panic, and I watched as Suzumiya-san simply took both of Mikuru's breasts in her hands as if they were her personal property.
"You see? Only the Brigade Chief can do this stuff to the mascot!" Haruhi explained to me as she continued to grope Mikuru. I could hear Asahina-san crying out in protest, her face turning redder by the second, while her eyes were beginning to brim with tiny tears of embarrassment.
"You ever thought of the fact that you could be charged with sexual harassment yourself, Haruhi?" I asked, but Suzumiya-san just ignored me. I had the notion to possibly say something else to Suzumiya-san, but my thought process was interrupted when I heard the clattering of tea cups as Mikuru finally lost her grip on the tray. I guess she couldn't last being groped for so long.
The cups came down like an avalanche of fine china, except that they were filled to the brim with still-hot tea. I didn't have much time to react when I felt the greenish liquid splash all over my thigh.
It takes a lot to hold in a scream of pain. It's like your throat is struggling to let out a massive bubble of air, and you have to do everything in your power to hold it back. I'd like to see you try not crying like a little girl when you get hot tea nearly spilled all over your groin! It's not as easy as it looks!
Nevertheless; Haruhi failed to notice that I could have possibly lost the ability to create offspring. Not that I thought she would care anyway.
Finally; Suzumiya-san let go of the severely embarrassed Mikuru-chan, as she was obviously bored with her breasts already. Sometimes I wonder why I don't enjoy watching this stuff happen daily. I'm sure someone like that idiot Taniguchi would be egging Suzumiya-san on to just abuse Asahina-san more.
Haruhi's expression was one that might make someone think she had incredible confidence in herself. Most of the time; she would make it look that way. I've always known that Suzumiya-san believes that everything she says is right, and it becomes useless to even try and reason with her most of the time.
You know; I can't help but feel like I'm experiencing déjà vu right now. This all seems so familiar, even though I can't actually put my finger on it.
Wait! I almost forgot! The universe is going to end if I don't do something to convince Haruhi that she has a reason to still believe in the strange and bizarre! I must act now! I am the only thing that stands between universal destruction; because Haruhi is losing her belief in time travelers, espers and aliens!
What the hell? This all sounds like it's already happened! Why does this amnesia have to happen now?!?
I couldn't help but look back towards Haruhi, who was occupied with watching whatever was occurring outside the window. She seemed genuinely bored now that she was no longer playing with Mikuru-chan's body, as sick as that sounds. This already was looking like another case of her melancholy.
What could I do about this?
Well; there was but only one thing to do. Without Nagato being an alien, I had no one to explain everything to me. The same goes for the fact that Itsuki is no longer an esper. He has no long-winded speeches to give me. He's got no obscure theories to try and tell me. In essence; I am alone.
I didn't take much time to think when I decided to just grab Suzumiya-san by the hand. It wasn't necessarily a smart move, as I was almost expecting her to just turn around and slap me across the face like I was some creepy old rapist or something.
"Haruhi…we need to talk."
Making my voice sound dead serious was essential in getting Suzumiya-san's attention. Her gaze had already drifted to where I was holding her by the hand, and I bet my wallet that the rest of the clubroom was eagerly watching this all unfold, save Nagato-san.
If I didn't know any better; I would say Haruhi was blushing when I began to drag her towards the hallway outside of the clubroom. I had narrowed my eyes and truly only looked back at her once, but I couldn't help but notice that there was in fact a red tinge on her cheeks. I didn't even know Suzumiya-san could blush at all.
When were both in the hallway, I forcefully shut the door behind us. It was enough hours after school by now that the hallways would be completely empty. I don't know who would want to voluntarily stay after school so long if they didn't have a club or sport to stay for. I can expect only someone like Taniguchi to do something like that.
In all the time that I spent pulling Haruhi out into the hallway, where we could talk alone; I noticed that she did not struggle against me. Actually…she didn't even say a single word. I imagined that Suzumiya-san didn't like being brought anywhere against her will, even if it was as little of a distance as being outside of the clubroom.
When the door was closed, Haruhi decided to lean up against the wall; crossing her arms and wearing an expression of indifference. I rubbed the back of my head nervously, mostly because I wondered if Itsuki was making fun of me while I wasn't there. I'm just being really paranoid right now, aren't I?
"So what is it?" Haruhi asked me as she continued to lean against the wall, and her voice sounded impatient and annoyed. I saw that her gaze was not towards me at all. Instead; she found anything else but me to be a more interesting thing to look at. Be it nearby lockers, a garbage can, or the window; anything else seemed better than looking at me. I spoke nevertheless, holding back a sigh.
"I've got something to tell you. Something important."
Alright! I am not going crazy! I said that before! I don't know when, and I don't know why; but I know that I said that phrase sometime in the past. There's too much of that déjà vu feeling to deny that I did not say that. It may sound weird, but I just can't shrug this damn feeling off.
Arrgh! What the hell am I doing? Every time my thoughts start bothering me like this; I end up having trouble with telling Suzumiya-san exactly what I'm going to say. I'm putting this off too long. I have to say it. I have to say it now, or the universe could end!
"Haruhi, I-"
"Hold that thought!" Suzumiya-san interjected; a bored look on her face. She walked towards me with a hidden grace, her hands behind her back. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. Sudden interruptions were annoying when I was trying to tell Haruhi something that could literally decided the fate of the universe.
"I have to say, Kyon; this is already starting to sound like a lousy confession." Haruhi said, her voice brimming with pride and vanity. Suzumiya-san made it sound like this happened to her on a daily basis, and that whatever I had to say, be it a confession or not, wasn't important at all.
But to think that I was going to confess to her? She already makes it clear that it's hard enough to even want to be around her in the first place, let alone confess. I'm trying to tell her the one thing that'll make her believe in her mysterious beings again, and all she can think about is me and my tactics at hitting on her?
Even when she has nothing strange to believe in; it seems that Haruhi can do nothing less but continue to be her strange self.
"I'm not going to confess to you. There are more important things that I have to say."
If I said this to any other girl, it might have ended up causing the said girl to start bawling in tears. I basically told Suzumiya-san off; mostly because I was more than annoyed with her pompous attitude. She might be beautiful and all, but even she doesn't have to make it sound like that every guy wants her so much more than they all want Mikuru-chan. And it makes me wonder why I she would assume that I would be one of the people who might have the audacity to confess to her.
Again; this feels oddly familiar….
Suzumiya-san looked confused now, as if I had donned a wig and starting dancing around like a maniac. I don't know if she was feeling rejected or surprised; but I really didn't care. Getting out the things I had to say was what was most important to me. Because I was already having a feeling that meant I might just forget it all soon enough.
"Then what did you drag me out here for, Kyon? What's so important?"
I sighed. Haruhi sounded impatient and bossy as usual. I would never expect such things to change. I can only imagine that she must have gotten everything she wanted as a little kid.
"I'm John Smith."
The words came out clear and concise, but Suzumiya-san's expression made it seem like I had mumbled them while wearing a muzzle. I saw a surprised look break out on her face, and when she spoke, her tone alluded to the fact she was completely and utterly confused.
"What?"
I sighed. I should have expected saying something to Suzumiya-san more than once to get it through her head. Her skull must be thick enough to stop a bullet from going through. How the hell does she get such higher marks than me again?
"I said…I'm John Smith."
The second time I said it made Haruhi put her finger on her bottom lip, and I could see that she was now in thought. I don't know what she was really thinking, but I can imagine it had something to do with the fact that for me to be John Smith, I would have had to somehow time traveled to when middle-school age Haruhi had first trespassed onto North High.
Suzumiya-san blinked a few times, obviously because she was trying to process the information I was giving to her. Part of me wondered if she really even remembered who John Smith even was, and part of me knew that she would probably never forget him. In essence, I had given Haruhi the idea to go to North High when she would come of age, because I had mentioned it to be a hotspot of strange happenings. I had also told her that I partially agreed with her beliefs in such things as time travelers, aliens, sliders and espers.
I kissed-up enough to Suzumiya-san to make her come to this school in the first place. And now I was telling her the truth. I was telling her that I was the root of her coming here. I was the one who had agreed with her middle school self those years ago.
"That's not possible." Suzumiya-said nonchalantly; breaking the silence that had momentarily emerged between us. I looked back at her, wondering why she couldn't just believe it like she easily had believed in aliens.
She really is losing her faith. This is serious. We really are all going to disappear…
"That's not possible, Kyon; because then you would be a time traveler. I don't see you filling such a role. You're too incapable to be a time traveler. Someone like you would mess with the technology and get himself transported two hundred million years in the past or something." Haruhi told me, making it sound like she was scolding me for something that I had yet to do.
It's great how she just has a need to play down on not only my intelligence, but my capability as well. If anything, she's the incapable one. She's the one who's losing her capability as God; and all I'm trying to do is restore her faith so she can regain that capability, because everyone else is practically useless now that they've nearly lost all the things that had previously made them special.
"I'm not going to deny the fact that you were the one who forced me to mark out those symbols out of chalk. And I was the one who gave you the idea of going to North High in the first place." I said to Haruhi, trying to make myself sound as dead serious as she usually sounds.
I should have just been this direct with Suzumiya-san awhile ago. From the emerging expression on her face; I could tell that either she was having trouble believing me, or hopefully she was having trouble believing that she might actually be wrong about something.
"That wouldn't make sense. You must've not grown much since middle-school, Kyon. And you probably stole a North High uniform." Suzumiya-san replied. She gave me a glare that made me almost feel like I was lying to myself. The effect she has on people can be profound at times.
But what the hell?!? Out of all the times Haruhi needs to find a rational explanation for an irrational happening; it just has to be when I'm trying to restore her faith. She can't just shut up and listen to someone else for once. Because I know if she was telling me something like this; she'd make it damn clear that it was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But somehow I don't have enough creditability to make her think that I had actually time traveled. At least in her eyes I didn't.
"Look, Kyon; this is a really lame attempt in hiding a confession. If you're going to confess; just do it. I hate guys who can't take responsibility for what they say. If you're really interested in me, then you might as well just spit it out! Then I can just tell what I think of it."
Confession? I already said that I wasn't confessing! What kind of self-deluded mind does Suzumiya-san have? Why does she keep mentioning this like she wants it? Where is she getting all this from?
And why does this all feel so familiar?!? Damn this amnesia!!!!
I sighed. There was obviously no point in talking with Suzumiya-san any longer.
"I'm just going home. You can't be reasoned with." I said to her, my voice defeated. I could only guess what the expression on her face was, but I really didn't care. Grabbing my bag from inside the clubroom, I didn't even take the time to say goodbye to the rest of the SOS Brigade. I brushed past Haruhi, who looked as if she might have actually had something to say to me. Granted it might be some insult.
She just couldn't listen, could she? Even when I put proof right in her face; she still can't believe it.
I wasn't going to stick around and try to continue this doomed attempt at saving the universe. Haruhi's incapability to listen to anything I had to say was a major roadblock. Everything was just going to end because of Suzumiya-san's inability to be a follower instead of a leader. She's just too stubborn.
I wouldn't be surprised if I had feelings for the girl locked inside my psyche. The things that make her what she is could easily attract me. I say to myself that I don't like Suzumiya-san. I say that she's bossy, arrogant, pushy, mean, stubborn and certainly eccentric. But there's always that side of her…I just can't put my finger on.
I can't deny this. Something was there. This amnesia is blocking something important. There was something involving me and Haruhi….but I really can't remember it.
I shook my head at the fact. The sun had begun to set outside; casting an orange and yellow glow across the entire city. I've been noticing a lot of sunsets lately. I took a look back at the building that was North High, wondering exactly what Suzumiya-san was thinking. If we do get through all this, I'll consider asking Koizumi if he could read Haruhi's mind or something. I'd like to see more of what goes on in that head of hers.
"You really are trying to convince her, aren't you?" a voice said from behind me, causing me to suddenly pivot like a globe rotating on its axis. I was suddenly face to face with Ryoko Asakura.
Her blue eyes shimmered, and the distance between us was every small. This was already very creepy, to say the least. She had her hands behind her back, and a smile on her face as the wind slightly caught onto her blue hair. It waved in the breeze, and when it stopped waving, Asakura-san spoke to me directly.
"I would stop while you're ahead. You should accept the end. It's going to happen whether you like it or not."
Her voice was like a sweet candy, but something in it yelled out rat poison. I had the urge to back away, but my legs were frozen solid. I felt like a paper clip attached to an unyielding magnet.
"I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to let everything just end so you can observe it all." I replied, trying to instill a sense of courage in my voice. It was a miserable failure however, because I knew I sounded very nervous.
Asakura-san smiled at me, suddenly putting one of her delicate hands on my shoulder. She moved closer to me, as if she was catching me in an embrace. Our faces were very close, and I was already beginning to feel uncomfortable.
Without warning, Ryoko suddenly started caressing my neck with one of her slender fingers. It was very awkward, especially because of how close she was to me. I felt her finger trace along my skin, and every touch was nearly spine-tingling.
"I would rather not have to kill you." She said to me, and I felt something metallic begin to slide on my skin. In an instant, her finger had become a sharp blade that glistened from the sunlight. The anxiety of feeling it so close to such a vital body part was nearly unbearable. I was already waiting for her to just make that one slice and end it all. All it took was one motion; and I'd be history.
But something else caught her attention instead. She was still smiling when she looked behind me. I turned; not realizing how close we still were, and the fact that we looked like we were both in each other's embrace.
Haruhi Suzumiya was standing a few feet away, her face in shock by what she was seeing in front of her. She had dropped her bag, and her eyes looked as if they were refusing to blink. I didn't know what I could say in this situation. There was obviously lovely girl was in my arms, and Haruhi looked like she wasn't too happy about it.
I know I didn't imagine her starting to run off. Images of tears streaming down her face were as real to me as the clothes on my back. Haruhi was running away from us like a hurt child.
What else could I do besides follow her? Nothing else, of course.
"Haruhi! Wait up!" I said in an exasperated voice, my mind focusing on catching the emotionally hurt Suzumiya-san. I put all the power I could into my legs, and they carried me as fast as they could. I didn't know why I really wanted to make Haruhi feel better, but I naturally assumed that it was to prevent universal destruction. I knew that she could be ending everything any second now. If I didn't at least say something to calm her down; I would just be assuring the end.
"You should just give up. There's not much time left." Asakura-san said from behind me as I continued to run, though I could faintly hear it. I imagine she had a smile on her face. One far worse than anything Itsuki could come up with.
Haruhi continued to run; not even taking the time to look back and see that I was following her.
What did I do wrong? Was Suzumiya-san truly jealous? I still don't get the way she works. I still don't know what's really going on inside that head of hers.
And I know I'm still forgetting things! Damn it! Even telling her I was John Smith didn't get her to believe in strange stuff again!
Why does this all seem so familiar!?! I hate this amnesia! And I hate this damn déjà vu!